Two Texas defensive backs enter transfer portal

Texas will be without two of their veteran defensive backs from now on, as both B.J. Foster and Chris Adimora have entered the transfer portal, per On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Foster is a big loss for Texas, as he notched 46 tackles and a team-leading three interceptions this season. According to the Texas website, the fourth-year safety played in 31 games and made 16 starts in burnt orange. He was a five-star recruit, and the No. 1 overall safety and Texas prospect in the 2018 class according to On3.

Foster famously “quit the team” midway through a game against UTEP in 2020 due to frustration with his playing time. Obviously, he returned to the team shortly thereafter. He had shoulder surgery in 2020 and later fractured his hand, and he dealt with a hamstring issue in 2019.

Adimora had a more limited role in 2021, recording just 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks. He played in 23 games and made 10 starts while with the Longhorns. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound defenseman was a four-star recruit out of Long Beach, Calif.

Transfer portal background information 

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be  contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.